Water grants
Idaho Water Resource Board approves 38 Aging Infrastructure Grants for $22.9 million, increases ESPA recharge goal in State Water Plan.
BOISE – (Nov. 24, 2025) – The Idaho Water Resource Board (IWRB) voted to approve 38 Aging Infrastructure Grants for $22.9 million on Friday during its regular bimonthly meeting in Boise. The grants were awarded to a wide variety of water user groups and soil and water conservation districts statewide. (See Attachment A below for list of recipients)
The Board also voted to increase the IWRB’s ESPA recharge goal from 250,000 acre-feet to 350,000 acre-feet of water on a 15-year rolling average basis in the State Water Plan and the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA) Comprehensive Aquifer Management Plan.
The Board followed the direction of Idaho Senate Concurrent Resolution 110, passed in the 2025 legislative session, to hold public hearings and work to revise the State Water Plan to mirror the goals in the 2024 Water Settlement Agreement between the Surface Water Coalition and Ground Water Districts. The Board held public hearings in Idaho Falls in July and in Twin Falls in September to take public input on the proposal. Public comments generally supported the change.
In related news, the Board launched the ESPA recharge winter season on Oct. 18. Approximately 32,342 acre-feet of water has been recharged into the ESPA so far, staff officials said. A daily recharge flow of about 470 cubic feet per second (cfs) is occurring right now, and is likely to remain at that level throughout the winter season, officials said. Upper Snake Reservoir carryover is so low that any recharge in the Upper Snake River Valley seems unlikely, officials said. A strong winter with more than 115 percent of snowpack will be needed to refill the Upper Snake reservoir system, according to Bureau of Reclamation officials.
In other news, the Board received notification from the Bureau of Reclamation that the Board’s letter of interest in the WaterSMART Basin Study Program has been selected to proceed to the next phase of the application process: Proposal Development. The Board will have until mid-February to collaborate with stakeholder groups and submit a detailed proposal for an Upper Snake River Basin water-storage study. Many water user groups and conservation groups throughout the Snake River Basin wrote letters of support in favor of the study. Several members of the Idaho Legislature
are actively supporting adding more water storage to the existing Upper Snake reservoir system, including the possibility of building new dams and adding height to existing dams.
In other action, the Board has added $1.25 million to its existing investment in the Little Wood River Channel-City of Gooding Flood Control Project because the overall project cost has increased to $52.6 million. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requires a 10 percent match from the state or local entities. The Board has committed to provide that funding through its Regional Water Sustainability Program. Currently, the project is moving through the environmental compliance phase; construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2027.
On Thursday afternoon, during the Board’s Work Session, the Nampa & Meridian Irrigation District (NMID) hosted a tour of the $20.9 million Ridenbaugh Modernization Project in East Boise, where construction is underway. NMID is replacing the Ridenbaugh diversion dam, while also making updates to its water-intake channel, headgate and more. The Board is funding approximately half the cost or $10.4M. NMID officials said the project is running on time and budget so far. It will take two years to replace the diversion dam and complete the project, officials said.
